'''Apophatic theology''' - also known as '''Negative theology''' or '''''Via Negativa''''' (Latin for "Negative Way") - is a [[theology]] that attempts to describe [[God]] by negation, to speak of God only in terms of what may be said about God and to avoid what may not be said.

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'''Apophatic theology'''&mdash;also known as ''negative theology''&mdash;is a [[theology]] that attempts to describe [[God]] by negation, to speak of God only in absolutely certain terms and to avoid what may not be said. In Orthodox Christianity, apophatic theology is based on the assumption that God's essence is unknowable or ineffable and on the recognition of the inadequacy of human language to describe God. The apophatic tradition in Orthodoxy is often balanced with [[cataphatic theology]]&mdash;or ''positive theology''&mdash;and belief in the [[incarnation]], through which God has revealed himself in the person of [[Jesus Christ]].

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In brief, the attempt is to gain and express knowledge of God by describing what God is ''not'' ([[apophasis]]), rather than by describing what God ''is''. The apophatic tradition is often allied with or expressed in tandem with the approach of [[mysticism]].

**The true knowledge and vision of God consists in this&mdash;in seeing that He is invisible, because what we seek lies beyond all knowledge, being wholly separated by the darkness of incomprehensibility (''The Life of Moses'', [[Gregory of Nyssa]]).

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**God is infinite and incomprehensible and all that is comprehensible about Him is His infinity and incomprehensibility (''On the Orthodox Faith'', [[John of Damascus]]).

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In negative theology, it is recognized that we can never truly define God in words. All that can be done is to say, it isn't this, but also, it isn't that either". In the end, the student must transcend words to understand the nature of the Divine. In this sense, negative theology is not a denial. Rather, it is an assertion that whatever the Divine may be, when we attempt to capture it in human words, we must inevitably fall short.

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==History and Development in the Eastern Church==

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One of the first to articulate the theology in [[Christianity]] was the [[Apostle Paul]], whose reference to the Unknown God in the book of [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] (Acts 17:23) is the foundation of works such as that of [[Dionysius the Areopagite]]. The [[Cappadocian Fathers]] of the 4th century, exemplars of this ''via negativa'', said that they believed in God, but they did not believe that God exists, at least in the same sense that man exists (notwithstanding the Incarnation). In contrast, making positive statements about the nature of God, which occurs in most other forms of Christian theology, is sometimes called [[cataphatic theology]]. Adherents of the apophatic tradition hold that God is beyond the limits of what humans can understand, and that one should not seek God by means of intellectual understanding, but through a direct experience of the love (in Western Christianity) or the [[Energies of God|energies]] (in Eastern Christianity) of God. Apophatic theology can be also seen as an oral tradition. "It must also be recognized that 'forgery' is a modern notion. Like Plotinus and the Cappadocians before him, Dionysius does not claim to be an innovator, but rather a communicator of a tradition." [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-dionysius-areopagite/]

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==Apophatic description of God==

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Apophatic theology played an important role early in the [[Timeline of Church History|history of Christianity]]. The [[Three Holy Hierarchs]] all emphasized the importance of negative theology to an orthodox understanding of God. Later [[John of Damascus]] employed it when he wrote that positive statements about God reveal "not the nature, but the things around the nature." In addition, [[Maximus the Confessor]] maintained that the combination of apophatic theology and [[hesychasm]]&mdash;the practice of keeping stillness&mdash;made [[theosis]] or union with God possible. All in all, apophatic statements are crucial to much theology in [[Orthodox Christianity]]; the opposite tends to be true in Western Christianity, though there are a few exceptions to this rule.

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Even though the ''via negativa'' essentially rejects theological understanding as a path to God, some have sought to make it into an intellectual exercise, by describing God only in terms of what he is not. One problem noted with this approach, is that there seems to be no fixed basis on deciding what God is not.

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==In the Christian tradition==

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One of the first to articulate the theology in [[Christianity]] was the [[Apostle Paul]] whose reference to the Unknown God in the book of Acts (Acts 17:23) is the foundation of works such as that of [[Pseudo Dionysius]]. This is as Pseudo Dionysius so describes. Exemplars of the ''via negativa'', the [[Cappadocian Fathers]] of the [[4th century]] said that they believed in God, but they did not believe that God exists. In contrast, making positive statements about the nature of God, which occurs in most other forms of Christian theology, is sometimes called '[[kataphatic theology]]'. Adherents of the apophatic tradition hold that God is beyond the limits of what humans can understand, and that one should not seek God by means of intellectual understanding, but through a direct experience of the love (in Western Christianity) or the [[Energies of God|Energies]] (in Eastern Christianity) of God. Apophatic theology can be also seen as an oral tradition. "It must also be recognized that "forgery" is a modern notion. Like Plotinus and the Cappadocians before him, Dionysius does not claim to be an innovator, but rather a communicator of a tradition." [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-dionysius-areopagite/]

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Negative theology played an important role early in the [[history of Christianity]]. Three theologians who emphasized the importance of negative theology to an orthodox understanding of God, were [[Gregory of Nyssa|Gregory the Theologian]], [[John Chrysostom]], and [[Basil the Great]]. [[John of Damascus]] employed it when he wrote that positive statements about God reveal "not the nature, but the things around the nature." It continues to be prominent in [[Eastern Christianity]] (see [[Gregory Palamas]]), and is used to balance kataphatic theology. Apophatic statements are crucial to much theology in [[Orthodox Christianity]].

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Negative theology has a place in the Western Christian tradition as well, although it is definitely much more of a counter-current to the prevailing positive or cataphatic traditions central to [[Western Christianity]]. For example, theologians like [[Meister Eckhart|Meister Eckhardt]] and [[St. John of the Cross]] (San Juan de la Cruz), mentioned above, exemplify some aspects of or tendencies towards the apophatic tradition in the West. ''[[The Cloud of Unknowing]]'' (author unknown) and St John's ''[[Dark Night of the Soul]]'' are particularly well-known in the West.

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==See also==

==See also==

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*[[Hesychasm]]

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*[[Mysticism]]

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==Sources and external links==

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*[http://www.seop.leeds.ac.uk/entries/god-necessary-being/ God and Other Necessary Beings], Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Revision as of 16:20, August 5, 2012

Apophatic theology—also known as negative theology—is a theology that attempts to describe God by negation, to speak of God only in absolutely certain terms and to avoid what may not be said. In Orthodox Christianity, apophatic theology is based on the assumption that God's essence is unknowable or ineffable and on the recognition of the inadequacy of human language to describe God. The apophatic tradition in Orthodoxy is often balanced with cataphatic theology—or positive theology—and belief in the incarnation, through which God has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

Apophatic descriptions of God

The true knowledge and vision of God consists in this—in seeing that He is invisible, because what we seek lies beyond all knowledge, being wholly separated by the darkness of incomprehensibility (The Life of Moses, Gregory of Nyssa).

God is infinite and incomprehensible and all that is comprehensible about Him is His infinity and incomprehensibility (On the Orthodox Faith, John of Damascus).

History and Development in the Eastern Church

One of the first to articulate the theology in Christianity was the Apostle Paul, whose reference to the Unknown God in the book of Acts (Acts 17:23) is the foundation of works such as that of Dionysius the Areopagite. The Cappadocian Fathers of the 4th century, exemplars of this via negativa, said that they believed in God, but they did not believe that God exists, at least in the same sense that man exists (notwithstanding the Incarnation). In contrast, making positive statements about the nature of God, which occurs in most other forms of Christian theology, is sometimes called cataphatic theology. Adherents of the apophatic tradition hold that God is beyond the limits of what humans can understand, and that one should not seek God by means of intellectual understanding, but through a direct experience of the love (in Western Christianity) or the energies (in Eastern Christianity) of God. Apophatic theology can be also seen as an oral tradition. "It must also be recognized that 'forgery' is a modern notion. Like Plotinus and the Cappadocians before him, Dionysius does not claim to be an innovator, but rather a communicator of a tradition." [1]

Apophatic theology played an important role early in the history of Christianity. The Three Holy Hierarchs all emphasized the importance of negative theology to an orthodox understanding of God. Later John of Damascus employed it when he wrote that positive statements about God reveal "not the nature, but the things around the nature." In addition, Maximus the Confessor maintained that the combination of apophatic theology and hesychasm—the practice of keeping stillness—made theosis or union with God possible. All in all, apophatic statements are crucial to much theology in Orthodox Christianity; the opposite tends to be true in Western Christianity, though there are a few exceptions to this rule.